Wednesday, April 26, 2017

* Disclaimer: This post contains PR Samples from Monthly Gift for review purposes. I want to thank Monthly Gift for sending this Subscription Box. All opinions are 100% my own.

Today I have a review on a monthly subscription box from a company named Monthly Gift. As you can tell from my intro picture, this is a montly subscription box for women and that time of the month. Let's get started with some information.

Our mission is to change the conversation around women’s health and to make ladies’ lives significantly easier. We’re working hard to create pioneering technology, insanely convenient services, and top-notch content for the Monthly Gift community. And we’re loving every second of it.

About Us

We started this company because we were tired of all those late night tampon runs and pads made of toilet paper, overstocking and yet somehow always running out of supplies at just the “right” moment. Simply put, we were fed up of feeling like our periods owned us and we were sure there was an easier way for women today. We’ve assembled the raddest gang in New York City, a talented and dedicated group of gals and guys from all walks of life. Our backgrounds may be varied, but our passion is the same: empowering women to take control of their health and having a ton of fun along the way.

TAMPONS

Light Tampons

Monthly Gift tampons are made right here in the USA, using the same materials that have been used in leading brand feminine care products for years, ensuring your comfort and safety.

Regular Tampons

All our products are ECF (Elemental Chlorine Free) and do not contain Natural Rubber Latex, Pesticides or Herbicides.

Super Tampons

PADS

Ultra Thin Pads

Monthly Gift pads have a super absorbent gel core that locks in moisture and keeps you feeling clean and dry all day. The tensile wings help to fight off leaks and the special adhesive system prevents from shifting.

With our free period tracking app you can stay in tune with your body, on track with your cycle and truly #ownyourperiod.

My Thoughts

When I recieved this monthly gift box last week, it came just in time of that time of the month lol. So I was able to get this review up sooner than later. As you can see from my review that Monthly Gift provides feminine care products made by their own company that are FDA approved.

A thoughtful handwritten note from Monthly Gift:)

I'm here to tell you ladies these products are just as good as the well known brand such as Always, Tampax, Kotex etc. In this box I recieved a 12 count variety of tampons, 12 regular thin pads, and 6 panty liners. I didn't have any issues with leakage and all the feminine care products stayed in place. The only thing I might suggest is that if you have a heavy flow you may want to use the tampons since the pads are regular ultra thin.

I love this water bottle!

How cute is this tote?!

I was sent a few extra goodies in my package, but you can select what best suits you for your feminine needs for as low as $10 depending on what items you choose. In each box you'll also receive emergency chocolate. My chocolate was a little melted inside the wrapper, but it was still edible to eat once I placed it in the fridge. I only tasted a piece of the chocolate until I realized it contained nuts so I couldn't eat it. (I have a peanut allergy) The piece I tasted was good though!

I absolutely love this box! I felt so pampered and I had everything I needed for that time of the month and I didn't need to make a run to the store. I recieved this box fairly quickly. I think mine was delivered within 3 days. This by far is one of the best subscription boxes that I've tried and I highly recommend you give Monthly Gift a try!

Sunday, April 23, 2017

Today I have two product reviews on two Milani's Foundations. I know I'm a little late with the first review. I'm very picky about the foundations that I use in my makeup routine so let's see if these two foundations are a Yay or Nay or me. * Product information is courtesy of www.milanicosmetics.com

Conceal + Perfect 2-in-1 Foundation + Concealer

Combat under eye circles, redness and other skin imperfections with this full coverage, water-resistant foundation plus concealer in one.

A no mess, no drip pump dispenses just the right amount of fluid needed to achieve a flawless look and works around the clock to keep skin looking naturally perfect!

My Thoughts

Let's start with the good. This is a creamy medium to full coverage foundation that lasts most of the day. Even though this foundation is creamy, it feels lightweight which is good because the weather is getting warmer. I love that this foundation comes with a pump that is very simple to use. I also love that this is a 2-in-1 Foundation and Concealer. I can tell that this foundation covers any puffiness and my dark circles (especially if I'm lacking sleep).

Now for the bad...I don't like the smell. This foundation has an (I hate to say it no offense to anyone), old lady light floral scent. It's not overpowering and the scent does tend to fade. It's just the initial application that the scent bothers me. This foundation does come in a wide range of shades, but the shades seem a little off. By now I'm pretty good at choosing the correct foundation for myself, but when I got this foundation it seems a bit off or at least in photos. I wear Tan (09), but in pictures it tends to me look like I have a unnatural honey mustard color glow. I really have to watch where I take photos wearing this foundation. Overall I really like this foundation, and this is one of my go to foundations.

Even-Touch Powder Foundation

The makeup equivalent of soft-focus lighting, this medium-to-full coverage powder has a hidden agenda—it conceals your imperfections to reveal an enviable complexion.

Even-Touch Powder Foundation is highly blendable and can be used as both a setting powder and a quick touch-up throughout the day.

My Thoughts

So by now if you follow me and read my reviews, you already know that there's no time for any BS here. This powder foundation is defintely a Nay for me. Let the ranting begin lol... This is actually my first powder foundation and I wasn't impressed. It took forever for me to get the powder on my brush, and when I did it was barely noticeable. I'm not one to give up on a makeup products, but this product is just so bad. I know that that powder foundation is different from traditional foundation, but after about an hour of application, it felt and looked like I wasn't even wearing any foundation (I know that's not always a bad thing). The color matches me perfectly (Caramel), but this foundation almost reminds me of a translucent powder.

I only recommend this powder foundation if you truly don't like wearing makeup because like I just mentioned it doesn't feel like you're wearing anything at all. The swatches took a lot of effort to get them to show this good on my hand. The only positve qualities about this foundation is the foundation doesn't have a scent which is good, and the gold packaging is really pretty. I'll probably wear this throughout the Summer, since I don't like to let my makeup collect dust, but this foundation isn't one of my go to products.

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Recently I had a few bananas left over, so I decided to make some homemade banana pineapple muffins for my mom. These are some of her favorite muffins, and I've always wanted to make them from scratch. This recipe makes about 16 muffins. Side Note: This is my second Pilar in Pantry post for the month :) Dont forget to check out my Pilar in the Pantry: Healthy Foods post.

Homemade Banana Pineapple Muffins

Ingredients

- 1/2 cup self rising flour

- 1/2 cup sugar

- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

- 2 eggs

- 1/4 cup vegetable oil

- 2 tablespoons evaporated milk

- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

- 3 mashed ripe bananas

- 1/2 cup unsweetened crushed pineapple, drained

Other Materials

- Pam Cooking Spray (or cupcake liners)

- Measuring cups and measuring spoon

- large spoon

- Whisk

- Two medium bowls

Directions
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg

In another bowl, whisk the egg, oil, milk and vanilla. Stir in dry ingredients until moistened. Fold in mashed bananas and drained pineapples.

Coat muffin cups with cooking spray or use paper liners and fill 3/4 full with batter.

Bake at 350° for 15-20 ?minutes (depending on your oven you may need to bake muffins for a few extra minutues) or until a toothpick or better knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 to 10 minutes

Baking and cooking is about trial and error. This was my first attempt at making these muffins with a recipe I came up with. They came out pretty good (even though I'm not a huge fan of banana muffins lol), and my mom loved them :)

I really like the idea of a facial Cleansing balm. At first glance this looks like a facial cream and it goes on so smoothly. After rinsing my face with warm water and washcloth, my face feels so rejuvenated. I've been using this every night and my skin looks so healthy and blemish free.

This cleansing balm can also be used to remove makeup. I've used this to remove my makeup and it works really well. I let this cleansing balm sit on my face for about 10 minutes to remove all my makeup and it comes right off. Don't you just love versatile products?!

When I rinsed and dried my face after using the cleansing balm, I moisturized my face with this luminious hydration facial oil. I have to talk about the scent. It smells so good! I thought this was going to have a strong Coconut scent like most of the other Palmer's Coconut Oil Products, but this oil isn't as strong.

This oil has moderate coconut scent that smells a little sweet or at least that's how it smells to me. As with the cocoa butter oil, this oil is non greasy and fast absorbing. The dropper helps control how much of the product you want to use, and a little oil goes a long way.

Overall I really like both products. The cleansing balm is a little strong, but it works very well for keeping my face clean and hydrated. The facial oil is a good moisturizer to use on those days and nights I want to switch up my skin care routine and give my face a little extra hydration. The oil is great to use if you have dry skin.

Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Until last year I felt like I was living under a rock in the beauty world since I didn't own any of these Maybelline Color Tattoo 24hr Eyeshadows. Don't get me wrong I'm not going to go out and buy every new makeup product that's released, lol, but I did want these in my collection for the longest time! That brings us to today's post.

Maybelline Color Tattoo 24hr Eyeshadow (Leather)

(80) Creamy Beige

(90) Vintage Plum

Maybelline Color Tattoo 24hr Eyeshadow (Metal)

(55) Inked in Pink

(60) Silver Strike

(70) Barely Branded

Maybelline Color Tattoo 24hr Eyeshadow

(05) Too Cool

(20) Painted Purple

(25) Bad to the Bronze

(35) Tough as Toupe

(40) Tenacious Teal

(45) Bold Gold

(50) Edgy Emerald

My Thoughts

These are some of the best Eyeshadows that I own! I typically like a lot of Maybelline Eyeshadows in general, but these eyeshadows truly live up to my expectations. As you can see from my Swatches these shadows are very pigmented and most of the shadows are very creamy in texture. Silver Strike is the only one I can think of that seemed a little on the dry side, but it's still a great shadows to use. It may take a little extra blending for Silver Strike, but it's worth it! I also like how these shadows can be worn alone or for my favorite aspect as a eyeshadow base. For example, Creamy Beige reminds me of MAC's Paint Pot in Painterly. If you own Urban Decay's Naked 3 Palette, a lot of the shimmery Eyeshadows work well as a base to go with those rose gold tone in the palette. These shadows tend to wear for about 5 to 6 hours without any fading or creasing.

I have 12 of these eyeshdows so far. I'm not sure of how many Eyeshadows are in this collection, but I know that I'm missing a few that are hard to find, but I shall continue my search for them. These can run a little high ($7 to $8) at most drugstores and Ulta (unless you catch a buy one get one sale). I typically get these eyeshadows from Publix or Walmart for around $6.00.

Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Today I'm going to be sharing a few of my Spring makeup essentials that I've been using or plan on using throughout the season.

1. Shaaanxo 18 Color Eyeshadow and Lipstick Palette.

You proabably have noticed that I'm showing the lipstick side of this palette. I plan on using the eyeshadow as well, but I really love these lipsticks and they're prefect for Spring

2. BH Cosmetics 88 Color Shimmer Palette

I user this palette every Spring because of all the beautiful pastel shadows in this palette.

3. Maybelline Dewy + Smooth Fit Me Foundation

This foundation is perfect for days that aren't too hot. If you live in the South or in a hot climate you know heat and foundation don't mix. This foundation is fairly lightweight and gives your skin a beautiful glow.

4. MAC's Blankety Lipstick

I love wearing a good nude Lipstick and Blankety is one of my favorites!

5. Colourpop's Lumiere 2 UML Lipsick

This is a perfect shade of lavender for the Spring.

6. Milani Matte Kiss Lipstick

This lipstick is screams Spring and Summer.

7. Milani Matte Darling

A gorgeous muted pink shade. Depending on your lighting this lipstick can look a little bright when you take a photo.

Monday, April 10, 2017

It's been said the eyes are the window to the soul. For today's post I did a sultry blue smokey eye. As much as I love pastel colors for Spring, I still love wearing a smokey eye. I think this would be great look for a date night or a night out. Don't forget to check out yesterday's Feeling Blue post to see my other blue eyeshadow Inspired Makeup looks.

Products Used

* Eyes *

- MAC Paint Pot in Soft Ochre

- Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Palette

1. Zone Transition Color in the Crease

2. Danger in Tear Duct and part of the Lid

3. Serious on ther half of the Lid and Outer V

4. Blackout on top of the Lid and Crease

2. Danger in Lower Lash

- Butter London Mascara

- Wet n Wild Liquid Eyeliner

* Face *

- Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser (Primer)

- Maybelline Age Rewind Foundation in Honey

- Maybelline Age Rewind Dark Circles Concealer in Honey

- Carli Bybel 14 Color Eyeshadow and Highlighter Palette (5) is the shade I used for my highlighter

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About Me

Hello!!
My name is Pilar. I'm a 31 year old beauty and lifestyle blogger. I like reviewing items I use in my daily life varying from beauty products and accessories. I will also show hauls, how-to tutorials and share my thoughts on various subjects pertaining to my interests :) Thanks for stopping by! Feel free to hit the join this site button on my blog and keep up with me :)